


new memories

by avng



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Canon Rewrite, Enemies to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Protective!Sokka, Slow Burn, amnesia!Zuko, angsty, dumbasses to lovers, kind of?, lots of water and fire metaphors, zukka - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:29:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24758590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avng/pseuds/avng
Summary: Set after the “Zuko Alone” episode.Zuko is going about his way alone in the Earth Kingdom colonies when gets into some sort of accident, he is found by the Gaang however when Zuko wakes up he has amnesia and doesn't know that he has been trying to capture the avatar for the past three years, let alone that he is the banished Prince. Sokka steps up to the responsibility of caring for Zuko, not knowing what it would ensue.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 27
Kudos: 327





	1. detour

**Author's Note:**

> First fic I've written in years but I had to, the world needs more zukka fics. Hope yall enjoy!

It wasn’t like they had planned to take this route, or better said: it wasn’t like Sokka had planned this part of the trip. Aang, however, was excited to ride ostrich horses, so instead of telling Appa to take them were they had to go, they were on their way to an Earth Kingdom Colony full of farms and small towns instead. This would totally ruin their journey’s timeline, if Sokka hadn’t pre-planned for it.

Sokka would never tell them but even if he wasn’t consulted first, he knew that Aang would want to stop somewhere, or Katara would think his schedule was too strict, and now with that Toph had joined the group he knew that it was only a matter of time before she also chose another random destination that would keep them off track of their goals. So he accounted for those days knowing that they happened more often than not. 

It also wasn’t like he didn’t enjoy these little “side-quests”, even before him and his sister had accidentally woken up Aang he had some experience with people going off-track. He was in charge of training the new generation of the Southern Water Tribe soldiers, one small detail was that they were all toddlers. Training what is essentially babies has a lot of detours, most of it involving animals, ponds or snowball fights. That last one Sokka counted as part of training, he needed more of the activities they did to count. 

He also knew that at some point he was like this too, he was the toddlers he trained, or the Avatar he was helping. He used to get distracted so easily, and would miss his fishing line moving, coming back empty handed after day out at sea, or would make too much noise in a hunting stakeout and then _everyone_ would come back empty handed. But his dad was never mad. Even though he never told Sokka, he learned that his dad accounted for him too, because once they arrived to the tribe they would still have a feast. 

So yeah, Sokka accounted for detours, even if the group thought he didn’t. He couldn’t afford to let them know there was more than enough time, because then they would take advantage of that. If he did they would never have even left the tribe in the first place because Aang would still be penguin sledding. 

What neither he, Aang or the rest would have thought to account for was to find the banished prince unconscious by the riverbank.

**...**

Zuko knew stealing from people that had cared for him wasn’t honorable, but he wasn’t going to walk anymore. He was tired. 

He was tired of his uncle’s riddles, about doing what’s right or understanding ones’ destiny. He was tired of the journey he had started for himself when he spoke up at that stupid meeting. He was tired of being Zuko, but he was more tired of not being himself. It had only been a couple of weeks since he had become Lee but already he was tired of being him too. 

It didn’t matter if he was tired of those things anymore though, his uncle was no longer accompanying him and the journey might as well had been done for. And as for being Lee? Nothing he could really do about that either.

At least he could admire the view, when he had been busy looking for the Avatar he only had that on his mind. Now he could relax a bit, the Earth Kingdom was nothing like the Fire Nation, it had so much color. There were trees and swamps, many farms and small towns, the royalty didn’t seem to be all that involved in regulating anything. The Fire Nation would never allow so much disorder. The Southern Water Tribe was more alike than this, because even thought fire and water are so different, them being direct opposites show the similarities in their ways.

His immediate surroundings were the same from a few days ago, and probably what they would be tomorrow and the day after, and the other. Mountains surrounding the plains he walked through, threes that provided the most shade at the skirts of the rocky giants. The occasional river, most towns had settled close to those. 

Zuko wouldn’t admit this to anyone but he didn’t know where he was going, he barely knew where he was. It didn’t matter as long as he stayed away from Fire Nation soldiers, he had some food and water so he didn’t need to stop anytime soon to get supplies. It was one of those days when Zuko truly had no purpose.

Something else he wouldn’t admit was that during his time as Lee he had decided that unless the Avatar were to fall down from the sky and hand himself in he wouldn’t be tracking him down. Sometimes he would listen in on conversation about the Avatar’s whereabouts but then he would just walk away before he got the important details. It’s not like he had a the equipment or the military force to take him down.

He had to stop the hope from rising because he couldn’t afford anymore disappointments.

Zuko continued on, in his destination-less journey, he knew it wouldn’t always be like this. He couldn’t resign himself to the future he deserved, one back inside the palace walls alongside his father. He couldn’t bring himself to ever even think of a future as Lee, the farmer with a troubled youth who has realized the error of his ways and has resorted to a life filled with vegetables and ostrich horses he now gets legally among with other farm animals that he tends to and cares for, maybe even making a family of his own. Zuko didn’t have time to imagine that future. 

It was pointless though, to think about being back in the palace, because unless he found a way to capture the Avatar (which Lee had no way of successfully attempting) his days there might as well be counted as over. 

Not too far off in the distance Zuko saw a river, although he had water for himself, his stolen ostrich horse (who he should probably name so he isn’t haunted by his wrongdoings) could use with some refreshment. 

As they reached the river Zuko was still distracted by his thoughts of regaining honor, and so he didn’t see the snake until it was too late. 

His thoughts were interrupted by his ostrich horse making loud panicked noises, but he didn’t have time to calm him down, as he was flown out of the ostrich horse’s back into the river hitting his head against a rock and floating down the stream. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love angsty Zuko so I had to include some of it before,, things happen... as for Sokka, we don't get much of him here but I promise we will get so much more. I know this is short, the next chapter is longer we just needed to set some ground stuff first. If you like the style (or don't) please let me know, I want it to be good.


	2. identity crisis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated after just a day because I'm just too excited, updates will probably be every three days but I'm not promising anything (don't want to disappoint)!
> 
> Also note that the reason the Gaang doesn't know Toph as well is because in the timeline of the story they just met her.

The group wanted to stop at a town and get supplies before riding the ostrich horses, couldn’t leave the chores till after they were tired. Sokka had learned the hard way that if he wanted things done the fun stuff should come as a reward, because interrupting fun time for chores was _not_ fun, not even for him. 

Sokka knew some about Earth Kingdom town planning from their trip north, and from the angle Appa provided, it was easy to track a river’s way till they could stumble upon a town. 

They were going a bit slow, he wanted to believe it was because Appa was being considerate of the time it would take Sokka to spot a town from this height, but he kind of felt it was more so that Aang was trying to spot an ostrich horse first. 

“Oh God,” exclaimed Katara, “look down there.” She pointed down, the details were hard to describe from the height they were at, but instantly Sokka knew undoubtedly that it was a body that had washed up on the riverbank. 

From what he could tell there weren’t any missing limbs, so Sokka wanted to be hopeful they hadn’t stumbled onto a dead body. He knew that Katara and Aang were no strangers to death, and he didn’t know Toph as well but she seemed to be strong enough for it, yet he really hoped it wasn’t because they were all so young, they didn’t need more mourning and loss. Even if it was a stranger.

“We should go down and see if we can help.” said Aang, already signaling Appa to land by the river. 

The body was facing downwards, probably a farmer, soaked from head to toe. He had a bag strapped to his side and was wearing normal earthly toned clothes, farther down the river side was a traditional straw hat that most likely belonged to him. The farmer was strong, as the wet clothes adhered to his back, Sokka could see that this man made an effort to stay in shape. 

Sokka pulled him completely out of the river and turned him around, he gasped. Across one side of the farmer’s head, over his eye, a huge scar laid. A scar he had seen before, _on the Fire Nation Prince_. “It’s Zuko.” he said before quickly shifting away.

They were all taken aback, except Toph who hadn’t had an encounter with the prince before. 

Katara interrupted the silence, “We can’t just leave him to die. We have to help him.” 

“What if he tries to attack?” argued Sokka.

Katara moved towards the body, kneeling opposite to Sokka. “We are all capable of fighting him and I doubt the first thing he does after waking up is try to capture Aang. He might be a lot of things but he isn’t that stupid.” She put her hands over him, Sokka didn’t know how healing through water bending worked entirely but he knew from watching her do it before that Katara was assessing the damage. The worry in her face calmed a bit, answering the unspoken question: _he wasn't already dead_.

“Maybe hitting his head made him that stupid.” offered Toph. 

“Well then he would have probably lost his fighting skills too. Either way it’s wrong to just leave him like this when we know he would die.” Sokka didn’t argue that, not just because his sister had already started healing Zuko and he knew he couldn’t stop her but because he knew she was right. Zuko might be their enemy but leaving him to die like this would just be wrong.

Aang spoke up after having not said anything since they landed, “Katara is right, how are we any better than our enemies? How are we any better than him? If we don’t help. I say once we know he is well enough to go on his way we leave.” 

Nobody had a chance to reply before Zuko started coughing out water. Katara had used her bending to take a lot of it out before his own body found the strength to do it. Once he had caught his breath, he looked around confused. “What happened?” But before anyone could answer his question he followed with another one that left them all stunned, “Who are you guys?” 

Katara put her hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down as he was clearly disoriented. “Uh, Zuko you seemed to have been in an accident and ended up in the river.” 

He just looked around as if trying very hard to understand what was going on. “Who is Zuko?”

“Oh.” It was uncomfortable to say the least. It seemed like his sister was out of words so Sokka decided to chime in. “You are Zuko, you were in an accident, it looks like you hit your head. Let’s see if you can walk.” 

He put his arm under Zuko as support and hoisted him up from the floor. His body felt hot, like he had taken a hot bath with his clothes on instead of almost drowning in the cold rivers of the Earth Kingdom. Sokka figured it was the fire bending that was keeping Zuko at such temperatures, it felt nice. Zuko could barely move without wincing. Sokka had a bad feeling that he wasn’t showing them the extent of how bad he had it.

He was worried, this was not at all what he expected would happen when Zuko would wake up. He thought they would bicker around about how _he couldn’t wait to get better so he could capture Aang_ and Sokka would say _that even at his best he couldn’t do it_ , and it would go on for a couple of hours until they parted ways, but this Zuko wasn’t going to be okay in just a few hours. It didn’t matter how good of a bender Katara is. 

Aang approached them carefully with a worrisome face. “Zuko, what can you remember?” 

Zuko scrunched up his face, thinking about it. “I, um- no. I don’t think I can remember anything. I, uh I-” 

Sokka interrupted. “It’s okay, no need to panic. Right now all you need to worry about is getting physically better.” He could sense in Zuko’s voice he was about to freak out, this wouldn’t be good especially after sustaining a head injury. Sokka figured they would have more time to figure out how much he does remember later. 

“Why don’t we go to the closest town to get some food, and find a place to camp for the night?” suggested Katara. “It’s late anyways, almost dinner time, I’m sure you must be hungry Zuko.”

Zuko just nodded, he seemed more calm than before but you could still see in his face the anxiety that filled him. Sokka didn’t know why but he kind of felt bad for him.

**...**

Although Sokka presumed that Zuko still had his fire bending after feeling his body heat earlier, he got confirmation after Aang asked if he could make a flame to turn on the fireplace so that they could cook dinner. It took a little more than usual (this is a guy they had seen make fires big enough to burn houses) but it was a steady fire. 

After dinner, which was unusually quiet except for the slightly awkward comments Sokka tried to make to lighten the mood, it is clear that Zuko is tired and wants to rest. Sokka was sure that Zuko wasn’t someone who would go to sleep in the early hours of the night but he knows that sustaining injuries like these take up a lot of energy to heal even with Katara’s help. 

He decides to call it a night, everyone gets ready and cozy but he stays up cleaning the space, once he knows for sure that Zuko has fallen asleep he wakes up the rest of the group leading them to a clearing from where they can look unto their campsite grounds but far away enough that they won’t wake up the prince. 

“What are we going to do? Our plans didn't factor in jerkbender losing his memories!” said Sokka.

Nobody spoke for a moment. “Maybe we should tell him who he is, it’s not like he is in any condition to attack us.” Offered Aang.

Sometimes Sokka had to remember that Aang might be the Avatar but he wasn’t trained as a warrior. Providing your enemy with key information that would put you at a disadvantage was not great strategy. 

“Even if he isn’t, what is it to say that he would want to keep going with us once he knows? It’s not safe for him to stay on his own, we’ve seen the wanted posters.” said Katara.

“What’s so bad with that? Ow!” Katara had hit his arm. “Jeez I get it, it’s not the moral thing to do but also if he’s not with us he’s our enemy and we don’t need more of those attacking us.”

“I don’t see the big deal, he’s just an awkward teenager. You guys are horrible at describing people to a blind girl, I really thought the prince was going to be this big menacing guy.”

“Toph he’s only like this because he doesn’t remember who he is, but he was determined in catching Aang, he didn’t care what the circumstances were. Even if he isn’t successful at doing so, he could try to make it harder, way harder, for Aang to save the world.” Sokka knew that despite how different him and Katara thought, there were some things they always agreed on. Understanding when something was not convenient for the tribe, in this case the group, was one of them.

Then Sokka said something he didn’t think he would ever say. “Listen, I’m not the biggest fan of the idea but maybe we should take care of him, keep him on our side. For now.”

Katara waved her hands. “That would be fine if it weren’t for the fact that it’s not right to lie like this, about his identity. If it’s not morally correct to leave him to fend for himself how is it any better to save him just to lie about what we know of who he is?”

Toph grunted to get their attention, “Are we forgetting that he knows fire bending and Aang needs to learn fire bending?”

Even though Toph had only just joined the group Sokka liked how she thought, she was a strategist.

But Aang was already shaking his head. “I don’t want to force him to teach me, masters and students might not always get along but they gain each other’s respect. Teaching is giving something, this feels like taking. We would never be able to reach a leveled playing field, it wouldn’t be legitimate.” 

“Aang, the possibilities of you finding a fire bending teacher are so low, you just got handed one on a silver platter. Zuko is good at it, you know this better than anyone.” Sokka wasn’t just saying this to get Aang to ease up on the idea, as much as it pained him to say it Zuko was talented, he might still be learning but he knew his strengths and as a warrior Sokka had to acknowledge that. “Besides, we already established that leaving him is not a real option, you might as well at least consider it while we still have him with us.”

“I’m not excited about lying either but I have to agree with Sokka, Aang this might be your one chance.” said Katara.

“Then it’s settled, we are not leaving Zuko behind.” There was no enthusiasm in his voice.

Sokka knew it was going to be an interesting time if nothing else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo, all these morals have team Avatar's hands tied behind their backs. I haven't been excited to write in a while, although I'm not sure if I'm characterizing the Gaang right, if there is something that you feel could be better written do let me know and I will keep in mind for future chapters.


	3. tagging along

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved reading your guys' comments on the last chapter!!

He might not be completely on board with the idea of being Zuko’s nanny but Sokka doesn’t have Aang’s guilt or Katara’s honesty morals and Toph is 12, she should only be in charge of taking care of herself.

Sokka, unlike the others, can rationalize that it wasn’t his fault Zuko lost his memories and that in fact they are doing Zuko a favor by not leaving him on his own to die. Even if Zuko showed them he was still able to fire bend last night (which means that he can probably still fight too), he doesn’t know who he is to the rest of the world, a world in which he has managed to make a lot of enemies. Sokka knows that others would take any opportunity to attack him and turn him in as a traitor of the Fire Nation. 

So Sokka is the one who spends the most time with Zuko, because everyone else just _feels_ too much. It’s okay, Sokka is a leader, he can handle this. 

One issue is that he doesn’t trust Zuko yet despite Toph letting him know that she can _tell_ he’s not lying. He wants to keep a close look regardless. They don’t know how his memory loss works, and maybe Zuko doesn’t remember everything but he might remember something. Sokka just finds the whole situation very tricky.

He also wants to make sure the rest don’t get attached to Zuko. They have a tendency to let their guard down very easily, trusting most that seem nice. So far this hadn't resulted in anything catastrophic for the team but Sokka was not about to let this be the first. It was the naiveness of youth, trusting too easily, loving too fast. Not Sokka though, that would never happen to him, he's a tough guy. 

But it's not like Sokka is an antisocial person, he loves a good crowd and the best thing about this whole 'going around the world helping the Avatar' thing was meeting new people. After all that's how he met Suki, who he can't wait to see again, and Yue... But this was different. Even if Zuko isn't all that bad now, what are they supposed to do when he knows he doesn't just play a role in the chess game that is war but that he _is_ the game, he is the _heir_ to the throne for god's sake. He knew that things could get messy, so he had to stop everyone's feeling before they existed. 

The first day after resting is a lot. They hadn't exactly prepared for this, and there wasn't a crash course on 'how to handle your enemy with memory loss'. To nobody's surprise Zuko has a lot of questions, but most of which the group can’t answer so they had spent all of the day providing vague answers.

_How did you know my name?_ We met you in a close town. We definitely did not learn it while in combat

_If I can fire bend doesn’t that mean I’m from the Fire Nation? Why am I in the Earth Kingdom?_ We don’t know. And we certainly don’t know that you are a fugitive being hunted down by the throne.

_If I’m a farmer shouldn’t someone, my family, be looking for me?_ Uh. Just hope they aren’t.

Soon enough Sokka knew he needed to keep everyone busy as to avoid more questions. The stress of dishonesty was going to make one of them crack, so he starts assigning them things to do apart. Hunting, fishing, collecting fruits, tending camp, among other things. They couldn’t move forward until they knew for sure that Zuko would be able to move around easily, if it came down to a fight the least he needed to be able to do was run. So they needed to plan for the meals and training of next few days.

At first, because Zuko is injured, he doesn’t get his own tasks. Along with the fact that going on his own was risky. He tags along when Sokka is doing his instead. He’ll help if it’s nothing heavy. 

The first time they went fishing, Zuko couldn’t help at all. This is a task that requires strength and precision, and Zuko was still lightheaded from the accident.

“How did you learn to fish so well?” asked Zuko as Sokka was halfway through filling the basket.

It had been rather quiet, when they first approached the river he thought maybe bringing a man that recently survived drowning to the river wasn’t a good idea. It was too late now, and Zuko didn’t seem all that phased.

Sokka had decided to explain his technique when he started walking towards the riverbank, it’s not like teaching him how to fish would put Sokka at a disadvantage in a fight. He went on about how to prepare bait, which he had woken up extra early to get, and then how to check if the water had any fish worth their time. He talked about the currents affected the type of fish they can catch, and how the wind factored into it as well. Zuko seemed to be paying attention but he didn’t seem to be all that interested so Sokka stopped.

Which is why he didn’t expect Zuko to ask about where he learned how to fish. He didn’t think he cared about any of it anyways, just trying to fill in the silence. “My father taught me.”

Zuko contemplated his answer, then continued to ask. “Why? Did you need to know to survive?”

Of course even with memory loss Zuko would only think to do something if out necessity. Royalty don’t have time to just do things. He remembers seeing Zuko’s uncle in many of their battles, the man seems like he would rather be a tourist on the boat than a man at war. Maybe he would understand where Sokka is coming from. 

“It’s tradition in the Southern Water Tribe.” Zuko looked at him like he wanted to ask more so he elaborated. “Even if that’s not your job you have to learn.”

Zuko laughed. “It sure came in handy.”

“Yeah.” Sokka might not be rude towards Zuko but he wanted things to remain polite. He wasn’t going to laugh along with him.

Zuko didn’t ask anything else.

**...**

The next time they go to do their part, Sokka figured he should pick something that didn’t involve rivers, he didn’t want to torture the guy. 

Sokka got the task to buy wheat to feed Appa, this was going to be easier to handle than fishing but not something that Zuko was of much help for either. Appa is big, he needs to eat tons of food and carrying it back to camp was going to be up to Sokka only. Usually he dreaded being in charge of feeding Appa, but it was nice that he could show off in someway to Zuko that he wasn't weak. Not that Sokka cared for his approval, but he wanted Zuko to know that he could take him in a fight if he wanted to. 

He didn’t have any interesting flying bison facts or farming facts to talk about unlike with the fishing so they walked in silence. If he hadn’t been so stressed he might have even found the silence comforting, but he was determined and tired. He looked around trying to distract himself, taking in the scenery, the Earth Kingdom colonies were beautiful, but being able to enjoy it was stressing him out. Being in one place for too long wasn't good, if he didn't have time to look around when at a place he knew they were good on time, if someone were to ask Sokka to draw this place from memory he would be able to map it all out, it had already been too much time. He could see from the corner of his eye that Zuko could tell by his expression that Sokka was worried, but he didn’t ask.

The people they bought the wheat from don’t get many visitors so they gave Sokka a generous discount, and some snacks for their walk back. The discount might have also been out of a concern that a couple of teenagers were by themselves and buying so much wheat but Sokka didn’t dwell on it, he just thanked them and then they went on their way.

“So,” Zuko started talking, “you are in charge...” 

Sokka wasn’t sure where he was going with this. He didn't expect Zuko to break the silence since they had been okay on their way to the farm. “What?”

“Like you are the one who calls the shots, even though Aang is the Avatar he looks to you for direction. Everyone does.” Zuko pointed out, and then he added like he was afraid of having crossed a line. "I'm just saying, that's what I've noticed."

Sokka hadn’t really thought about it that way, or any way really. Sure, he was the plan guy, but it didn’t mean he was leading them. Or maybe it was, but he wasn’t just making decision without asking, everyone’s opinion was heard. Even when he was back in the Southern Water Tribe he knew that although he was supposed to be the man of the tribe Gran Gran had more leading influence than he did. He wanted to believe he wasn't but he knew everyone just saw him as a kid, he might as well be sitting besides the toddlers and take lessons from someone else instead.

“It doesn’t matter, anyone can be in charge.” Sokka _might_ be in charge now but it’s not like Katara isn’t fit for the job. She learned along Sokka with his father, and later with his Gran Gran, everything they know. Katara is better because she can also bend.

“A good leader is important. You should feel proud.” Zuko looked at him with strange eyes. Sokka wasn’t having it, and he could tell. 

Leader or not Sokka knew what his duty was. He might not be Aang but he knew he had to help in the ending of the war. So whichever role he played, however Zuko decided to perceive it, it was just his responsibility. 

“Sure.”

**...**

Zuko decides lay on Sokka the bluntest question he’s asked since being saved from drowning after their third time gathering supplies together.

“Why don’t you like me?” he blushes after Sokka looks at him weird. “Not like that, I mean like you always answer my questions or reply to my comments because it would be rude not to, but not because you seem to care.” 

Sokka is taken aback, he didn’t think Zuko would spot Sokka’s apprehension, then again Zuko didn’t lose his bending skills so analyzing social cues probably wouldn’t be something he would lose either. “I don’t hate you, I just have a lot on my mind.” That wasn't entirely a lie. Telling half truths was helping Sokka with the vague answers, when he suggested it to the rest he couldn't get Katara on board but Toph loved the idea (which concerned Katara). Only half lying should count for something, right?

Instantly Sokka knew that Zuko wasn't buying it. “You might not hate me but you don’t like me. Did I do something when we first met? Because I might not remember what happened but I’m sorry, I don’t want this to be uncomfortable.”

Sokka wasn’t entirely prepared for this. He didn’t think he was treating Zuko badly, but he realized that he had other way worse interactions between them to compare it to while Zuko didn’t. This Zuko doesn't remember fighting Sokka, only the mildly annoyed Sokka standing in front of him. Sokka had to do a better job pretending.

He also didn’t realize that Zuko had the ability to feel regret (okay that might be an overstatement but still), and in this case Zuko felt regret for something he didn’t remember doing at all. He had to say something to get Zuko to drop it, and it had to be convincing. “Zuko, I don’t dislike you either, it’s just hard to think about anything besides how all of us are going to survive the war.” Maybe that was too convincing because Sokka found himself realizing this wasn’t even lie to keep Zuko from prodding. 

There was silence for a moment.

“I’m sorry.”

“What? Zuko, I just told you it’s not-” he was interrupted.

“About remembering growing up with the war I mean,” Zuko was looking at him with sadness in his eyes, “I'm sorry you have those memories. I’ve complained so much about not being able to remember but I didn’t take a moment to realize that you are tormented by memories of the war that only serve to fuel your thoughts of the future.”

Sokka was quiet, he felt like Zuko had been replaced by someone else, someone understanding. A few weeks ago all he would have received from him would have been a petty insult but now Zuko feels bad for undermining Sokka’s feelings. Actually, a few _days_ ago Sokka wouldn't have been having a conversation with Zuko, of all people, about his _feelings_ point blank. Feelings he didn’t even know he had until they came out of his mouth just a second ago. 

“It’s okay, it’s not your fault the war-” Sokka stopped, he might not have the same feeling Katara and Aang had about Zuko’s memory loss but he was above lying to him unless completely necessary, and while Zuko might be different right now, some of the destruction caused by the Fire Nation was his fault. So he approached his thoughts differently, slow and carefully “It’s just that this war has gone on for so long, I think some people don’t even know why they even started fighting in the first place anymore. It’s just always been like this for us.”

“At least Aang is back, maybe people can have hope.” This was enough for Sokka to know that the conversation had to end. This was so out of character of Zuko he felt like it was all a fever dream, a really bad one. Zuko being grateful that Aang is a beacon of hope? Ridiculous idea, never in a million years did Sokka think he would hear that. 

“Let’s get back, this is enough wood for the next three days.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some Zuko and Sokka for everyone! Sokka's pretending has gotta improve a little... anyways, this was really fun to write! Next chapter the Gaang is going to have a, um, special,, guest. 
> 
> Oh and also follow me on tumblr @avng (same as here)!!


	4. shedding layers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so unfortunately because of the way the fic is set out Toph doesn't get to have tea with Iroh in this version of the shedding episode but it just wouldn't make sense with how things are going. In its place we have Zuko and Toph bonding (along with this being a lengthy update), which we need more of anyway, hopefully that balances it out haha.

They had to keep going. Zuko was not in topnotch condition but he was certainly way better than how he would be now had they not found him. Katara had been healing him every night after dinner to make progress faster, apparently the river had played around with Zuko that day but it was more like he was the ball rather than an opponent. So Katara was trying to distribute her energy evenly, which meant that nothing was 100% better. However, now that Zuko could carry at least Momo’s weight and walk without stumbling every single time, it was time for them to move. 

Sokka was tired, sure Zuko wasn’t a baby so he didn’t actually need to be taken care of like that. But Sokka is worried, and it’s not like his worries were ridiculous, after all going around the world with the Avatar is difficult, every other day they had to fight someone new or face another enraged spirit. But now they _also_ had to worry about a certain fugitive prince. The possibilities of what could happen were too many and they were keeping Sokka awake at night. 

At least the time he got to spend with Zuko was becoming more pleasant. After their firewood-picking conversation Sokka had decided that what was best was for him to try to ignore his negative feelings towards the guy whenever he was with him. No matter how good he thought he was at being nonchalant that wasn't enough, he had to be nice. He had realized that if he kept his attitude the same Zuko would figure out that something more was going on and they couldn’t afford that. 

It didn’t hurt that Zuko seemed to enjoy Sokka’s jokes and asked him questions about home, it had been a while since he found people interested in hearing about his life in the tribe. After all, Katara knew it all too, Aang was busy with mastering elements, and Toph had just joined the group but Sokka would bet the 12-year-old wouldn’t be to interested in hearing about activities that mostly took place in the water where she was most vulnerable.

“So wait there’s these two fish species, and they basically look the same-”

Sokka interrupted, they weren’t _that_ similar. “Except for that white fine like after the right eye!”

“Okay, sure, fine, two fish species that look essentially the same, and the only visual difference is that one of them has a fine line after the right eye, but that one, the one with the line, is poisonous and the other one isn’t,” he stopped to look at Sokka in the eyes, “and you guys still eat them?!”

“We always look for the line!”

Zuko was shaking his head, not at all convinced by Sokka. “That just sounds like a waste of time, why not fish other species instead? I feel like there is just too much at stake.”

“What’s life without some risk?” Zuko just laughed. It was a nice sound. 

“You would rather die for some adrenaline rather than, I don’t know, go ice dodging instead? I’m sure I’m not the only one who think so.”

“Maybe you’re not, but who is going to say any better? You only have my word as representative of the Southern Water Tribe, I am the voice of truth, I am-”

“I can just ask Katara when we get back.” 

They laughed, it was refreshing to have someone of his age to talk to and mess around with. Yeah he knew this was temporary, and better than the rest he knew not to let his guard down, but a part of him wished that he could just have more moments like this. 

When he was left behind by his father, Sokka was devastated. He was the only man who had to stay behind, at the moment he wanted to fight for his tribe. He was proud of his home, he wanted to do his part in protecting it. Later it downed on him that it wasn’t just that he got left behind but that he was alone, sure he had Katara and his Gran Gran, but he had connections with the other boys. 

Before they had left Sokka would go with some of his father’s younger apprentices to train in the wild, ‘nature is the best teacher Sokka’ he could hear his dad say. They would share food and spend whole days together sparring, hunting, learning, they would even bundle up in caves when surprise snowstorms would keep them from getting back home. He wouldn’t share like that with them all though, only some of them, those few were more _special_ to him. He couldn’t explain why but he cared about them more. And it was not more special as in best friends, everyone was Sokka’s best friend, he was _that_ guy, but there was just something about what he shared with some of them that was different. Once they had left, there was no way to answer why, and it didn’t matter because there was no _who_ left. 

So when Sokka and Zuko walked towards the town, he didn’t move away as their arms brushed. And it didn’t seem like Zuko would bother moving away any time soon either. 

They had to get the final supplies before they could go on with their trip, things they could only buy and not just pick up on their way. Everyone had asked for something, most of it was common (or, how Sokka would rather call it, unimportant), but Katara had asked for some cream that could help with Zuko’s healing, it took a lot of energy through bending and her training with Aang had resumed. Things in their routine had to change so she wouldn’t become exhausted. However, that one request Sokka had predicted to be harder to find, so he and Zuko woke early in the morning to go and find it. 

And was Sokka right, it was almost sunset, they had walked over to two towns already and neither had any healing cream, these towns were so small that they avoided producing the same stuff as their neighbors and instead they relied on each other for whatever they didn’t make. Sure it was clever, but not great for them. 

They hadn’t even stepped out of the third town, where they had finally found the cream, when they heard screaming behind them. As Sokka turned around he saw Aang, Katara and Toph on Appa, and farther behind, chasing after them, were... the three girls from Omashu? 

It wasn’t the fact that they had followed them that made Sokka confused, it was their age. Yeah he was young, and so was everyone else on the team, but other than Zuko everyone that had tried to attack them up until then were adults. That is, up until a few weeks ago when they had attacked them. 

When Appa was close enough him and Zuko climbed up quickly and when they were able to hold on tight to the edge of the saddle, Aang directed Appa out of there without a second to spare. 

“Who are they? Why do they keep chasing us?” Asked Sokka straight away. From their tiresome faces it looked like they had been dealing with them for the same amount of time Zuko and him had been away from the camp. Which is to say all day. 

“Well, when we asked who they were, what they wanted, all their leader said was ‘What, you don’t see the resemblance?’” Replied Aang, looking straight ahead steering Appa to avoid their attacks. 

Sokka didn’t need to ask him to elaborate, when he looked back at the girls, which were riding mongoose lizards, he instantly knew who the girl in the middle reminded him of. Besides the horrendous smirk and two good eyes, it was like Zuko had been reborn as a girl. This wasn’t good. 

“We’ve been trying to get them to stop following us, of course Katara’s best idea was to go faster so that we could try and lose them before we could get to the towns and find you guys, only problem is that Appa’s shedding is what’s leaving a trail, so she didn’t really think it through.” Started arguing Toph. 

Katara huffed. “Well, I’m sorry that best was my idea, at least I had one, unlike some people that all they do is complain!” Clearly this was a fight that started before Sokka and Zuko joined them. And from what Sokka could tell, one that wasn’t just about the situation they were in right now. 

Aang interrupted before Toph could reply with a comeback, it seemed like even the all-mighty spiritual Avatar was also becoming inpatient with the girls’ fighting. “Okay guys, this is going nowhere, we need to figure out what to do. Appa is getting tired, he’s been flying all day.”

“Well, if it’s Appa’s shedding that’s leading them maybe we should clean him in a river so we don’t have any of his fur falling to the ground leading them to us.” Suggested Sokka. “Look if we zigzag for a bit over these mountains we can make it harder for Appa to be tracked, that way we buy ourselves a couple of hours, and by the time they have found the river we go to we will have been long gone.”

“That’s a good idea Sokka, we should have come find you guys sooner.” Said Aang, he made an effort to look back at them and give him a big smile.

His sister and Toph were still upset but but nodded in agreement. When he looked besides him, Zuko was also smiling.

**...**

Once they landed they got straight to cleaning, and Appa was enjoying every second of it. Sokka not so much, although he did enjoy knowing that his plan was the one that was picked (sure, there was no other plan but no need to go over that). Zuko couldn’t really help since cleaning Appa takes so much out of a person, so he went around the area looking for some fruit instead. He wanted to feel useful and even though Sokka was kinda scared of him running into his sister he figured they had put enough distance between each other to not worry for a couple of hours. 

Now it was Toph and Sokka in the water scrubbing all of Appa’s _six_ legs, while Aang and Katara where on opposite sides bending the water from the river onto Appa to wash off most of the loose fur. Toph was trying to get one of Appa’s legs clean when Katara went over that side with water and dropping it without announcing it out-loud and getting Toph soaking wet. “Seriously?!”

Toph bended the earth where Katara was standing on in the riverside and Katara fell facedown in the water. Sokka knew there was no real threat in that, the water came up to half his thighs, but when Katara got up she had a really mad expression and started what was probably her hundred speech of the day. “Toph! We are washing Appa in a river, what else do you expect? Me and Aang are basically doing all the work, you should be okay with a little water splash.” No it wasn’t a little water splash, but Sokka knew she was right in the getting wet part, when washing Appa it’s inevitable. 

“Well I’m sorry bossy pants! I’m not a water bender, in fact in terms of clean my bending does the complete opposite, so I am trying to do what I can over here and instead of being thankful or just plain considerate, you drop three times my weight in water on top of me.”

“Girls-” Tried intervening Aang, attempting once again to make peace, but he was interrupted by Toph.

“No Aang, you know what? If Katara is just gonna boss me around and treat me like this because she wants me to whatever she says then I don’t know what I’m doing here, it’s worse than being back home because at least I was my parent’s baby at some point, Katara just treats me like it.” With that she walked over to the saddle on the ground and got her stuff. 

Sokka needed to do something. “Toph! Don’t go, we need-” 

“Drop it Sokka, I’m leaving and that’s the end of it.” 

Sokka tried to run after her but Toph just bended the ground under him. 

They just looked around awkwardly while she walked away towards the trees, until she was no longer in their plane of view. Katara was the first to break the silence.

“Ugh I was so... Mean. I’m sorry Aang, I’ll go and talk to her, try to get her to come back.” Sokka could sense the regret in her voice, his sister wasn’t mean spirited, this was clearly exhaustion mixed with more annoyance than usual. 

Aang sighed. “It’s okay, I should have done a better job at dealing with it, handling confrontations like this, it is part of being the Avatar.”

Normally he would be on Katara’s side on a serious fight, and he knew that Aang genuinely was feeling bad and not just trying to appease his sister, but he was wrong. “No offense, but yeah Katara you were, even if you feel regretful I don’t think you going to talk to her straight away will help, besides you and Aang have to finish cleaning Appa. I’ll go find her, hopefully a trait of hers we haven’t learned yet is that she’s forgiving.” 

He walked away without waiting for a response. Even though they hadn’t done anything truly productive in the past few days, and this was all technically a huge detour, they really needed a day off. One day with no training, or chores, or talking about becoming masters or Avatars (sure it’s only Aang but it’s Team Avatar so yes Sokka will use the word in plural). It was a lot, and it was getting to them.

Sokka finally found Toph in a clearing between the trees, but before he could shout towards her and ask her to come back he heard another voice. 

“I don’t remember home or who I was up until a few days ago, but I can feel the anger you talk about deep inside of me. Like it’s part of my essence and it’s the only reason I can remember it. Sometimes I get angry now and I don’t know why or at who.” Said Zuko, who had a basket half full of fruits in his hand. 

“Well, I know exactly who I am angry at, I don’t need Katara to tell me what to do, and I can take care of myself on my own.” Replied Toph. 

Sokka should probably intervene, Toph was being too honest, was letting down all of her walls. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it, he wanted to listen to what Zuko had to say. He wanted him to talk it all out, he wanted to be close to him.

“I get it, I didn’t really ask to come along, I didn’t really have a choice. Sometimes I feel helpless, like I can’t really do much when I’m handling tasks with Sokka, it makes me want to stay in camp. What’s the point if I can’t even carry a bag of fruit bigger than this? But I don’t stay behind, being able to keep him company is enough, even if I sometimes feel like it’s not.” He waited a second before continuing. “You can take care of yourself by yourself, but you don’t have to, nobody should have to.”

A couple of second passed before Toph replied. “I... thank you for listening Zuko, but that’s not going to change her babying me.”

Sokka came out from behind the tree he was hiding in. “If it’s any consolation, she treats me and Aang like babies too, and Aang is not just the Avatar but literally over a hundred years old, and I, well, I am her big brother but she acts like its the other way around.” 

“Sokka I knew you were there but you could at least pretend to not be eavesdropping.” Although her words made it seem like she was mad, Toph’s smile gave her away.

He and Zuko laughed. “I know, I was going to but then I figured there was no use in doing that, aren’t you the Blind Bandit? I know better than to pretend.”

She laughed with them. “Just because I’m laughing with you it doesn’t mean I’ve made up my mind about coming back.”

Sokka sighed. He knew it wouldn’t be that easy. “Listen Toph, Katara is also just tired, it doesn’t excuse anything she’s done but even though we are all handling our daily tasks, Katara is also training with Aang and healing Zuko on top of it. She doesn’t mind helping, and she would never complain, but it’s a lot. She feels bad for having snapped at you.” Said Sokka. “I think once we are all able to rest things will be better, and we can talk with her too.” 

Toph walked over to Sokka and hugged him. “Fine, I’m sorry for bending you out of my way back there.”

He hugged her back. “It’s fine, nothing personal, let’s go back and help them finish up though. Those girls are probably catching up on us.” 

**...**

When they were back by the riverside Aang was already drying Appa and Katara was organizing their thing in the saddle. They didn’t have a chance to talk about what had happened, they hadn’t even reached them before Toph shouted. “I can feel them coming!” 

Aang air bended the saddle onto Appa and everyone ran and climbed onto it once again.

Once they had reached a steady level, Katara looked at Toph. “I apologize for being rude and ordering you around. I guess the day has just been longer than usual and there’s not enough energy to go around.”

“I get it bossy pants, baby needs some rest.” She paused and then added. “I apologize too.”

Sokka knew it wasn’t close to an agreement to how things would be from now on, but they understood each other better. He also knew that Aang probably had a similar conversation with Katara while they were away.

Appa flew closer to the mountains trying to lose the girls, but they rode their mongoose lizards up the side of the mountains until they were running on the mountaintops, looking down onto them. Sokka didn’t understand how somehow their terrain animals had gotten them to a higher vantage point than Appa.

The center girl, princess of the Fire Nation, suddenly got a better view of the group. Her usually unbothered smirk faltered for a second. “Zuzu?” 

There was no time for a response, as she had hesitated Aang had taken advantage and redirected the air to send her back flying, she had clearly been thrown off her guard when she saw Zuko, and from the corner of Sokka’s eye he could see that Zuko had been too. She was left behind, as she had fallen from her ride.

“Azula!” Shouted the one in pink, the other one just looked back without saying anything.

Toph took the opportunity of the distraction of the fallen leader and bended two small blocks in the way of the other girls’ mongoose lizards, making them trip too. 

“Appa is going to a higher height so that they can’t track us through sight so be careful, once we get to our new camp we should get some rest.” Announced Aang.

Sokka hadn’t noticed it but he was really tired and ready for some sleep, except the anxiety of what had just happened probably wasn’t going to let him. Sokka didn’t need to look at him again to know that Zuko was looking at him, that he would have a lot of questions, and that for those he truly had no satisfying answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The episode Appa’s shedding takes place in is honestly such a good one and I really did not look forward to rewriting it just because “if it ain’t broken don’t fix it” but there was no way to get around it, however I was looking forward to this low-key siblings reunion. 
> 
> Please let me know what you think so far, I truly appreciate it and it motivates me to put out more :)


	5. the beach

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a few chapters ago i said i would take around 3 days between updates but i have a job now so it might be a week or so between updates, i'll be working on it though so no worries :)

Zuko is standing by the end of the beach, he doesn’t know how he got there, or why he’s even there in the first place. It doesn’t seem to matter that he doesn’t know these things, because what he does know is that he’s been there before, he’s sure of it. 

Zuko hasn’t been sure of anything in so long.

He’s alone, not a soul running or splashing around, he is also sure that this isn’t normal. 

Zuko would never complain about solitude, he appreciates alone time. Those are times when all he knows is enough, it’s not like not knowing himself changes how he thinks of who he is, even if it does change what others think of him. After all, to him it doesn’t matter what of Zuko’s blank past, when alone his present is enough. However, even with his appreciation for lack of companionship he felt an eeriness in his loneness at the beach.

Along the coast there are empty chairs shaded by umbrellas, half made sandcastles that have been left untouched, and towels laid out inviting the owners for a midday sunburn. There are no trails of footprints that suggest humans were here, but there is more than enough of everything else. Life is very still except for the crashing waves against the shore. 

The sand is dark, it’s comforting, it doesn’t reflect the harsh rays of the sun. He’s standing so close to the shore that water tickles his toes. Zuko feels at home, yet it feels wrong. Like it’s about to be time to pack up. No sandcastle would survive the harshness of the waves in the night as the moon brought the tides up the shore. 

He feels a distant call, he can hear it, but it’s not coming from outside his head. He turns around trying to spot whatever is calling him.

Then he sees her. A tall beautiful woman that Zuko can only find one word to describe: _home_. He tries to run towards her, but it’s like he’s not really moving. His feet are not exactly stuck in the sand, but as he tries to go faster— as he tries to run —it’s like he is frozen in place like the life around him. He feels his heartbeat match the intention of his legs. The woman was wearing a black somewhat sheer tunic over dark ruby red swimming garments. Her dark hair shadowed her face. She was too far from him, he couldn’t see the details of her frame, but just like the beach he knew he had seen her before.

Suddenly, without explanation, he was walking besides her up a hill leaving the beach behind. A relief came over him, no longer straining against the sand to meet her. He could see her face now, there was a certain fuzziness to it, Zuko wanted to reach out and touch it. He wanted to make her clear against the backdrop of the clear blue sky. 

She was talking to him, he couldn’t entirely understand what she was saying, even as far into the land as they had walked the crashing waves still had the ability to muzzle her voice. He tried really hard to concentrate on her voice, she seemed to be saying important things, but all he could see was her lips moving. 

Even though Zuko was frustrated because he couldn’t hear her, he didn’t panic, her expression was calm. So he remained calm.

It seemed like she wasn’t supposed to be in the beach, or this road, or in his life. As if the place, the _island_ he realized from what his new surroundings revealed, was trying to erase her image and voice. He wanted to keep her there, but there was a part of him that felt like she had fought the island to see him, and that this was merely a visit. 

At the top of a hill was a house, it was unlike the ones he had seen in the Earth Kingdom, it was big and the colors were so different from the usual greens and browns, gold lined red roofs and creamy white walls with terraces that looked down to the beach. The place exhibited luxury without even walking in.

It was calmer, the sound of the waves eased up, “Your time as Lee was short-lived, though it should still serve its purpose. Throughout my time I hoped to serve you what my grandfather tried to serve me, I also tried to serve her but...”

Zuko looked up at her, her image had become clearer however there was still struggle, but it was struggle that was personal to her and not of the island. Regret filled her eyes with tears, but none flowed down her face. 

“You must serve yourself now, you must carve your path with not only what you have found but with what has found you.” 

Once they have reached the top of the hill they stop, she gestures him towards the house. He doesn’t want to leave her side, but he trusts her. He wouldn’t want to hurt her by not going, after all she isn’t the only one who has shown to have rules since he arrived to the beach. There are always consequences.

She smiled at him, encouraging steps, so he faced away from her and walked towards the house. 

“I love you Zuko.” So faint and far that he almost couldn’t hear it. A stolen moment, he knew it was not allowed by the island. When he looked back she was no longer there.

Turning back around he is suddenly inside. Despite no longer being guided by her Zuko knew where to go. Up the stairs to the left, down the hall was his destination. He wasn’t sure how he knew since all of doors where the same except for the double doors at the other end of the house.

As he opens the door he is greeted with a familiar set of eyes. Soft blue like the now calm ocean outside, eyes that he seemed to spend much more time thinking about than necessary. Sokka was the only thing in the room that wasn’t color coordinated as he was wearing a normal set of blue tinted hides and furs. Not that much fur was necessary, even for Zuko the temperatures in the island were a lot, but it didn’t seem to bother Sokka. Unlike _her_ , Sokka was solid in the room. 

Red tinted walls and dark mahogany flooring, it was all just more evidence of the luxurious character of the house, except that it was a small room. Smaller than he anticipated it to be, almost like it was— not almost, it _was_ a child’s room. There were toys in a corner, paper with rough drawings on a small table and he knew without trying that lying on the bed was not possible. The bed on which Sokka was sitting. 

When Zuko took a step forward, Sokka got up from the bed. Another step, Sokka stepped too. Movements that weren’t entirely in synchrony, but that happened together. Movements that approved of each other, no overstepping.

Zuko felt like he was having a conversation, like the ones they had when cleaning around the fire after dinner, or the ones they had when they woke up before everyone else, both times when Sokka was too tired or sleepy to put up his defenses. He knew it wasn’t fair to him to find comfort in Sokka’s unguarded conversations, but that’s when he felt most accompanied in his loneliness, it was when Sokka showed no attention to Zuko’s lack of knowledge. They were conversations filled with truth.

So they stepped, without uttering a word out-loud. They stepped until there was no more space for their grandiose silent movements. It was still once again, like the life down at the beach. A beach that felt so far away in this moment, a beach that compared to their movements was _lifeless_. There was just one more movement left. 

“You are so predictable Zuzu,” Overstepping. He turned around to see who had walked into the room, examining the toys in the corner as if pieces from a puzzle piece, the girl they had escaped from back in the mountains of the Earth Kingdom colony spoke. “Truly, I always told Mai her chances were slim. I mean, you being into the other side wasn’t just reserved to politics.”

He turned back around fast, but Sokka was no longer there. Suddenly, even in the heat of the volcanic island, he found himself in need of the furs and hides. He turned back to the girl, Azula? He had heard one of the girls shout out her name. She looked younger than he had perceived her to be from afar, she looked a bit younger than him even.

“She wouldn’t listen but she should have, I always know more.” She moved around the room and, although he was no longer stuck like he had been down at the beach, Zuko didn’t move with her. 

He didn’t know who Mai was but he knew that Azula’s statement wasn’t about that other girl, it was about him. Her attitude didn’t seem to be one that was all that caring about helping out her friend, more so about proving herself right.

Somehow knowing he wouldn’t respond she continued, now examining the drawings, by the look on her face she was not impressed. “Even now, I know more than you about yourself. And you always made it a point that I never truly knew you, I guess even about that you were wrong.”

Zuko felt exposed, but a voice inside of him told him that this was her intention. She didn’t know him now, even if she had known him before. 

“I- Why should I even listen to you?”

Stepping away from everything else and now examining him, she spoke. “So so predictable, is it that you hit your head too hard? Even when the answers are right there spelled out you still manage to be too dense.”

Zuko hadn’t tried so hard to remember someone since he first woke up that day by the river. It was so frustrating to try when there was no thread to lead him towards an answer, but now he just didn’t want to feel so incompetent. So out of place in his own story.

“Really, I mean, it’s not your fault your _nice_ and _caring_ mother made you believe that compassion wasn’t a weakness, she would think like that, after all she did pay you a visit.” He knew at this point she was teasing him, merely confirming what he felt in his heart to already know. 

He was starting to get annoyed, this conversation was going nowhere. “If you know so much why don’t you just tell me?” 

Stopping in front of him, she smirked. “You can’t run away if you want answers, fight for the truth. Stop them from escaping the next time you see me, then I can show some weakness too. Knowledge at the cost of a little compassion? I’d do it just for you Zuzu.”

She walked out the room, and he looked at the one place she hadn’t examined, his bed. Sokka had been waiting for him. 

_There was just one more movement left. And the many more after that._

**...**

Everything is dark, the roughly made camp still lit by the moon. As he tried to sit up he groaned. 

“You okay bud?” Sokka’s voice comes from the sleeping sack besides him. He turned around while inside it, making Zuko laugh internally. Now facing him, he continued. “It all probably hurts right? Since you fell asleep on the way here Katara didn’t want to risk anything by bending while you were unconscious, plus I think she was about to pass out.”

Zuko didn’t want to inconvenience anyone, it was late probably midnight or later. “It’s not that bad, I can wait till tomorrow.”

“Don’t be stupid, Katara might be asleep but we got the cream remember? Let me go get it.” Before Zuko could tell him not to Sokka was already out of his sack and walking towards the pile of stuff that was unloaded from Appa but was evidently not organized. 

In his short moment alone, Zuko reminisced of his time in the island, even if only a dream _most_ of the company had been good. His mother spoke to him, and even though there was no way for him to confirm her identity with someone else he knew it was her. Not that he understood what she said, talking to him in a riddle was so inefficient she might as well had spoken in a different language. He still appreciated the time. 

When he came back, Sokka gestured for him to move. “Lay back down, and take off your shirt so it’s easier to put the cream.” Zuko was glad it was dark because all of the blood in his body went up to his face. 

From this new angle he could see all of the stars in the sky, it was harder to look at Sokka without it being obvious, so he could only tell he was getting ready as he heard the grass crunch under his feet and him taking off the lid of the bowl. He sat down besides him and there was no warning. It was very cold.

“Oh God.” Zuko whisper-shouted. Sokka put his hands up quickly from his chest.

“Oh no, I’m sorry, did I press too hard? Did I hurt you? I didn’t realize, I-” Zuko interrupted his frantic apologizing before he could wake up everyone else. 

“Sokka, it’s fine, I’m good, it’s just that... the cream is very cold.” He admitted embarrassed.

“Oh,” Sokka laughed softly. “I thought I had hurt you, instead you are just apparently allergic to the cold.”

“Ha ha, very funny, you could have given me bite-frost.” He said, but he laughed along with Sokka. His skin would probably melt off the ice before it even got the chance. And so would the cream if Sokka didn’t hurry. Not that he wanted him to hurry. 

Sokka put his hands back on Zuko’s chest. Now there was a new wave of panic, but it was no longer because of the cold. As Sokka worked quietly spreading the cream around his torso Zuko needed to think about other things to distract himself. The dream, it wasn’t just his mom who he saw there, Sokka was there too. But he knew better than to mention it, and it wasn’t going to help with the distracting, so instead he addressed the third subject of his dream.

“What do you think the girls wanted back there?” He said breaking the silence. 

Sokka stayed silent for a couple of seconds, probably didn’t expect Zuko to ask about that. “Well, everyone in the Fire Nation wants to stop Aang, there’s probably have a bounty on his head.”

“Not anyone can catch up though.” _And not anyone dresses in such regalia, especially not bounty hunters_. He didn’t say it all out-loud, he didn’t want Sokka to think he was doubting him, but he was aware that Sokka knew better than that. He had heard enough of his stories that he knew Sokka overanalyzed every detail.

“I guess, but we’ve been followed by many, admirals, generals and common folk alike. Some have more resources, so they can somewhat keep up with us.” Sokka’s voice was somewhat distant, as if rehearsed.

“Sokka... I know you were just as surprised to see them as I was, and that Aang is followed by everyone, but I feel like there is more to it. I mean, why do you think that girl, Azula, called me ‘Zuzu’?”

There was another moment of silence, Zuko wasn’t the chatty type, silence fills most of his conversations, but Sokka always talks. He always has something to say. The moment isn’t that long, but it is a second too long. 

“I’m sorry buddy but I don’t know what to tell you, we first met them back in Omashu. One of the girls was part of the governing family there, maybe you had met them before we met you?” He paused, Zuko could sense he was unsure of what else to say. “This is the second time we’ve seen them, I wish there was more I could tell you but there isn’t. They have the same goals as everyone else, to stop Aang from putting an end to the war.” 

They both stayed quiet, there was nothing else to say. Zuko knew that Sokka couldn’t tell anything else. Zuko knew enough to drop it. Once Sokka was done with his torso he asked him to turn around so he could get his back. After he finished, he knew there was more of him that he needed the cream to cover but they were both falling asleep and Zuko just gestured him to lay down too. Once comfortable they looked at each other, silent thank you’s were given, and as their eyes started to lose strength Zuko spoke up. Even though everyone else was asleep he said it softly but just loud enough so that only Sokka could hear it. 

“I don’t care about the girl or anyone else,” he paused. “I wish I could remember myself.”

Sokka didn’t say anything, Zuko didn’t need him to say anything, he just wanted to be alone, with him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i mean all i can say today is that even in dream form “azula always lies”
> 
> also we get a cameo from yue right after the dream lol  
> (i apologize for such a lame joke i just thought about it while i wrote that the camp was lit by the moon)
> 
> this one was hard to write (hence why it took so long) i usually dislike reading dreams because they can be very confusing so i wanted it to be good, i really hope it is <3
> 
> ps. follow me on tumblr @avng !!


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